Sacramento mayoral candidate Angelique Ashby is claiming victory Thursday in a court fight -- even though a judge denied her claim to make her opponent Darrell Steinberg turn over hundreds of thousands of dollars in the heated race for mayor.

Ashby sued Steinberg, her primary opponent in the mayor's race, claiming that $220,000 in Steinberg funds were illegal campaign contributions. She wanted the court to order Steinberg to surrender the money, but Cadei said no.

"At this point, I do not find any basis for issuing an injunction against Mr. Steinberg's expenditure of funds," Cadei said in court Thursday.

In court papers, Steinberg said he had no intentions of spending that money in advance of Tuesday's primary election.

"This was not a legitimate claim,” Steinberg’s campaign spokesperson Jason Kinney said. “This was a political stunt by a candidate trying to find some traction in a mayor's race."

But the Ashby camp is calling the court ruling a success -- even though the judge ruled against them.

Ashby’s attorney Andy Rockas said they achieved their goal with the lawsuit.

"You know, we really wanted to make sure those funds were going to be set aside and segregated -- and not used prior to the election,” he explained. “And to that extent, I think we achieved the result."

Ashby also said she is happy with the outcome – even though Steinberg gets to keep the funds.

"I'm not worried about him keeping the money. I'm worried about him spending the money illegally in the mayor's race," she said. "He said he would not use the money in this race, which is the sought out outcome. We are happy with that outcome today."

So what happens next?

The Ashby campaign said it would examine additional legal remedies. But time is running out -- the heated contest for Sacramento mayor just five days away.